Grady was born during the great depression in El Campo, Texas. Raised on a farm and ranch, at age 13 he was doctoring wormies about half the year and riding a few young horses in between schooling. The Texas High School Rodeo and a few amateurs was the normal transition.
He was called to duty in the U. S. Navy during the Korean War and spent three years in an Underwater Demolition Team. He found this unique sector of the service liberal in time off when stateside and southern California an ideal location to continue his budding rodeo career.
A Bachelor of Science Degree was earned from Texas A&M in Kingsville along with a college National Team Roping buckle in 1957. To further what he had learned in college, he made as many rodeos as possible from home until late June each year then buddied up with Jack Burkholder, Ronnie Sewait and others and headed north for a couple of months.
Some average wins in calf roping include San Antonio, Casper, Memphis, Little Rock, Waco with a record fastest calf ever tied at the Calgary Stampede in 1958. He was the first left-handed calf roper to qualify for the National Finals in 1960 and one of the proudest to get to go back with his daughter Kappy who qualified for the barrel race in 1999.
